About Heath Slocum

SHARES

By Matthew Fortuna

Heath Slocum is a professional golfer from the United States. Though affected by health problems, he turned professional at the age of 22 and has played on both the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour. The owner of some impressive Nationwide records who made a successful run in the PGA, Slocum has won five tournaments individually and has played for the U.S. team in the 2007 World Cup.

Early Years

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Feb. 3, 1974, Slocum learned golf at an early age in the southern United States. He golfed on the same high school team in Milton, Florida, as Boo Weekley (at the same school Bubba Watson would attend a few years later). He learned golf as an adolescent and teenage from his father, Jack Slocum, who served as the club pro at Vicksburg Country Club in Mississippi.

Golf Beginnings

After high school, Slocum moved from Mississippi to attend the University of South Alabama in Mobile, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. At South Alabama, he was a three-time All-America golfer who earned many prestigious amateur golfing honors. He turned professional in 1996.

Nationwide Tour

Beginning his professional career on the Nationwide Tour, Slocum was known for his small size, at only 5-foot-8 and around 150 pounds. He developed ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, in 1997, and was forced to miss about a year and a half of golf. He went from around 150 pounds to close to 122 during this period, but he made a recovery and again hit the tour the next year. By 2001, he had won the BUY.com Greater Cleveland Open, the Knoxville Open and the Omaha Classic.

PGA Tour

Slocum earned his way onto the PGA Tour by winning those three Nationwide Tour events in one season, only the second person ever to do so. He had won twice on the PGA Tour by 2009, including the 2004 Chrysler Classic of Tucson over Aaron Baddeley, and the 2005 Southern Farm Bureau Classic. In 2008, Slocum was among the top 100 in the World Golf Rankings.

Career Accomplishments

Slocum has earned more than $9.7 million in his career as a professional golfer, and has played in all four major tournaments. He finished as high as 33rd in the Masters, ninth in the U.S. Open, 32nd in the Open Championship and three times inside the top 30 at the PGA Championship. He also placed second in the 2007 World Cup with high school teammate Boo Weekley. He is a national spokesperson for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

About The Author

Matthew Fortuna is a full-time freelance writer with a journalism degree from Wayne State University, living in the Detroit metropolitan area. He has written about a wide range of topics across varying publications, including Demand Studios, wiseGEEK.com and Suite101.com, among others. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Wayne State University.

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